Major Back to School Giveaway!!

It's Back to School time! I know it's totally cliche, but this summer was the fastest summer ever and I'm fairly certain I have not left my classroom at all in the past 11 weeks. 

We're going back to school a week earlier this year in order to fit in mandated archdiocesan testing, so our summer has been cut a bit 5 days shorter. Despite all that, I'm still really excited to get started with my newest group of littles! To get in the spirit of things, I've decided to have a giveaway and this one is a big one!!

A few weeks ago, I reached out to Kristen from Easy Teaching Tools since she's a fellow California blogger (and an amazing one at that!). Not only is she the sweetest, most helpful blogger I've come across, but she also has an awesome selection of resources on TpT! Kristen has become a bloggy mentor to me, helping me with a variety of different things, but mostly, teaming up with me and bringing in an A+ team of other incredible bloggers out there to join in on the giveaway fun! I am so excited to share with you the prizes! 

The Glitter Clip

My friend and colleague, Cristina Cullen, who also serves as a Stella and Dot representative, has so kindly helped me out as we present you with our grand prize: the *MADISON* tech bag in Poppy! I loooooooooooooove me some Stella and Dot! Their jewelry and accessories are all top notch in quality and design! I personally love the Madison! I am hoping to buy one for myself in the near future to tote all of my tech and school items! Stella and Dot bags are big enough to carry all of your techy-teaching necessities, but also lightweight and super chic. I have a different bag in a metallic pewter, and in the two years I've had it, it has not worn at all. I can fit my laptop, my purse caddy, charger, iPad, planbook... easily. And I get so many compliments on it! 

Kristen is giving away her super cool Class Instagram kit from TpT! It's a great (and easy!) way to communicate daily happenings in the classroom and she even has her own kids in charge of it! I can't wait to add this to my TpT cart!

Easy Teaching Tools

Ashley from One Sharp Bunch is giving away her I Can Read Poetry binder! When I saw this, my little heart went pitter-patter. So many poems and awesome activities to inspire our budding poets! I love this pack!

One Sharp Bunch

Jaime from Bright Concepts 4 Teachers is throwing in her Back to School Basics: Forms and Letters pack -- and they're editable!! Let's face it -- we're all so busy and ridiculously tired at the start of the year. My head is swimming in an ocean of to-do's. This amazing product would be a lifesaver in any classroom!

Bright Concepts 4 Teachers

Caitlyn from Teach Inspire Change is giving away her Student Behavior and Parent Communications binder! Holy, organization, Batman! I must have this in my classroom this year. Such an incredible tool to document everything in your classroom to maintain proper records for your students and parents!

Teach Inspire Change

Nicole from All Things Apple has thrown in her My Self Reflection Desktop Name Tags and Posters! I absolutely love these, especially with my 36 kiddos coming in this year! Quick, easy, and so incredibly helpful to gauge where the kids are in their understanding!

All Things Apple

I am super excited about Ashley's product! Ashley writes the super-duper awesome (I-may-stalk-this-blog) blog Schroeder Shenanigan's in 2nd. The Back to School Pack she's giving away is FULL of any and every form you would need to start school off organized and in style (That rainbow chevron arrow? Totes my favorite. Yes, I just said "totes"). 

Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd

But wait -- there's more!!

Kayla from Top Dog Teaching is giving away her Digital Citizen Poster Pack and mini-lessons! In today's day of technology, this is a must have item for our littlest learners who need to be taught how to use technology responsibly! Such a great item!

Top Dog Teaching

One lucky winner will receive ALL of these incredible things! All you have to do is complete the rafflecopter requirements below! The winner will be announced on Friday on the blog and on my facebook page! Can you feel the Back to School love??

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MIA

Not that I have a massive following to notice, or anything, but I've taken a bit of a hiatus (ahem -- 8 days -- thank you Facebook for reminding me) from blogging. I have been knee deep in classroom preparation, being a mommy, and trying to create new bulletin board materials. I suppose that's connected to classroom preparation. I also had limited time to work on my room, which added to the stress and desperation.

But for my 2 followers are other faithful friends who read... don't worry... I'm still kickin ;)

Warning: this post is so pointless that it's almost comical. But I'm delirious, so let's just see it as a brain dump.

The hours I wasn't able to be working in my classroom, I was diligently working on materials to be used in my room or at Back to School Night. I've seen a lot of classroom brochures on Pinterest and used Kristen's brochure from Easy Teaching Tools as inspiration to match my classroom theme. I'm happy with the outcome and hope the parents find it useful. In the past, I'd print out and bind an entire book.  But with a class of 36 this year, and limited time before BTSN, I think this will be much easier to handle.

Tuesday through Thursday we had meetings at work where we went over our basic "housekeeping" items for school -- testing schedule, change of procedures, etc -- and then we each shared something that we learned over summer as many of us attended different professional developments. I did a follow-up presentation on Words Their Way. I think it went pretty well, but mostly because my colleagues are amazingly supportive and embrace change and new ideas.

In other news not related to school, Mr. C and I are on Season 4 of Boardwalk Empire after binge-watching this summer. We started season 1 in the spring, took a hiatus, and then continued once summer started since there's nothing on tv. It's a great show! It's kind of like Sons of Anarchy in the 1920s. 

And finally.. for my loyal 2 readers and awesomely supportive friends who read along... just wanted to let you in on a little secret. I'm teaming up with some awesome bloggers next week for a little giveaway! You'll want to stay tuned... it's a good one and I kind of wish I could enter the giveaway myself because the prize is uh.mazing! 

Look for my blog and instagram posts for your chance to win!

Ten Years

Today, as I was frantically designing, printing, laminating and cutting, I found myself reminiscing about my very first day of teaching...almost ten years ago...



I was fresh out of college, 21-years-young, and had no idea what was in store for me.  My first position was at an incredible public school in a great part of the district. I went out searching for the perfect black suit for my interview. I desperately wanted to work at this school, so I had to go all out here. I made my then fiance, now husband, help me find said suit. I gathered up my 4-inch portfolio binder, pulled my hair back, and headed to the school for an interview. I didn't know what to expect, but when I got there, I was definitely not expecting ten people to sit in on my interview. It was a full on committee! I'm pretty sure they saw the color drain out of my face on that sweltering July day as I donned my black skirt suit.

Needless to say, I was hired to teach 5th grade.  I was the youngest faculty member.  I was terrified. I tried very hard not to get nervous by the fact that I was only 10 years older than my students. And that some were taller than me. That entire first year, I wore heels to work.



I learned a lot that year. The first time I disciplined a kid for rolling her eyes at me (to which I responded with something in my sternest teacher voice and ended my statement with "...and check your attitude at the door."), I remember turning toward the whiteboard thinking, "Who am I?!" It was then that I understood why I was required to take a theater class in college.

We had a lot of laughs that year, and I'll never forget the day one of my students disappeared. I mean, one minute he was in the classroom, and the next minute he was gone. I panicked, of course, and thought of all of the worst case scenarios in my head, all of which ended with me going to jail, but then, there he was... waltzing in the classroom. I was too relieved to even get upset with him for walking out.  Before I could even question him, he looked at me, and all of his classmates, raised his hands in the air in celebration, and yelled out, "I THREW UP!" I guess he really took heart to my rule: do not pass go, do not collected $200, please run out of the classroom to the restroom if you're feeling ill. I have since improved upon my sarcasm.

I can also think back to the first time I busted a kid for cheating. He basically copied straight from a website despite my warnings and instruction on how to properly research. I gave him one last chance to come clean with my "honesty is the best policy" reminder, but he still told me that he had written the report. It broke my heart to show him what I had found. But I think it taught him a pretty decent lesson.



I also cried a lot that year. A LOT, a lot. I think I cried almost every day on my drive home for all sorts of reasons. Stress, feelings of insecurity, incompetence, ineffectiveness, tears of pride, tears of joy. Mostly tears of exhaustion. I was also going through the first year of my credential clearing program, AND planning a wedding, so there was quite a bit on my plate.

At my first Open House, a parent came up to me, shook my hand, and thanked me profusely for the time and effort I put into educating his son. He told me that I spend more time with those kids than a lot of parents do, and for that he's eternally grateful. I cried again in that moment.

I will never, ever forget my first class. Those kids are headed into their junior year... of COLLEGE... this year. They mean more to me than they'll ever know.

Soon, I'll be starting my 10th year of teaching. It truly feels like it's been a decade, but it's also gone so quickly. Every year starts off with haste, I blink, and then it's Christmas. And with each passing year, I've learned so much more... about teaching, about my students, about myself. I've worked with some incredible educators and owe so much of who I've become to them and their influence.

My classroom is a lot cuter, way more functional, and I definitely have a greater sense of how to plan curriculum and implement a successful discipline policy. Best of all, I can finally say that I have experience! And it really feels great to be able to apply that experience in so many different ways. It's been a long, exciting, stressful ten years, but it's completely validated my choice in careers.

And as it turns out, ten years later, I'm still the youngest teacher on faculty.

Here's to another 10 years of growth!

Super F: Five For Friday and a FREEBIE!

I'm linking up with Doodlebugs today for my *FIRST* Five for Friday & a FREEBIE special!

Wow, that's a lot of F's :)

The other day I did some shopping for my classroom [which always makes my husband's heart rate accelerate], and I came across this giant book at Big Lots. It was only $3.50! I thought it was super cute..but then, I found these chalkboard stickers! Definitely needed those... But wait, there's more! Then I added some washi tape to the binding and TA-DA! There you have it!

Now if I only stop and write down those fleeting thoughts that all seem to come late at night or early in the morning when I'm bound to forget...

Now, just as an aside here, what is it about chalkboards that makes us all go crazy? You know exactly what I'm talking about. You could make a chalkboard toilet, and you know every teacher's lounge in America would have to have one. But the funny thing about chalkboards is that they're actually kind of a pain. I had a chalkboard seven years ago when I started at the school I work at now. There was chalk dust EVERYWHERE, on the desks, all over my hands, and then sometimes even -- gasp! -- on my face! Ultimately that would result in a very embarrassing conversation with *that* seven-year-old brave enough to tell me that I had, in fact, a chalk mustache.

Actually, I'm traveling down memory lane here and I am totally having a flashback to 7th grade math class when our teacher would half sit on her stool and half sit on her chalkboard ledge. Well, you know what happened next. And let me tell you, seventh graders will NOT tell you that you have a chalk mustache -- or a chalk ring around your rump.

I posted on instagram the other day that I made some giant custom teacher Melonheadz for my aide, principal and me. I've been dying to put them up, but I forced myself to focus on finishing up my classroom purge before I start the fun stuff. so for now, I have them printed and laminated and ready to go.  Melonheadz Clip Art is ah-dorable!

I don't want this to sound like a complaint, because surely it is not (okay, actually it is...), but my little guy is kinda-sorta sometimes driving me a little crazy.

Backstory: he's 16 months and loves to run around and certainly has developed a mind of his own. But seeing as he can't talk (other than mama, dada, yeah, and ball), he's desperately trying to communicate. So he screams. LOUDLY. I'm trying to be patient. He's my sweet little guy and I adore him. But by 4 pm, when I need a nap, and he needs a nap, and Emily needs a nap, and the whole world needs a nap, well, we are over it.

Exhibit A: Conversations with a toddler

James:  EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Mommy:  What do you want James? The cup? Do you want the cup?
James: (pointing) EAAAAHHH!!! AHHHHHHH!!!! EAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!
Mommy: What is it? The phone? Do you want the phone? Do you want the cup?
James: (LOUDER) AEAAEOIRULAEJR:OAIUWEOIDNFL:KSDJFO:IEWJRLKMDFFLIFJSERKLMKASLDJOIERMSLJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Falls to the floor rigid and screaming]
Emily: (hands him the cup)  Mommy, he wanted the cup.
James: (laughs and takes the cup)

I know, I know, once he starts talking, I'm going to wish we could go back to him being the little babbler... I mean, screamer. Okay, maybe not so much. But I'll miss him being so little.

But seriously, that face. I die.

I finally gave in and bought some new caddies from Lakeshore. I NEVER buy plastics from Lakeshore, but I didn't like the ones from Really Good Stuff [blasphemy, I tell you!] and I couldn't find any in the Target Dollar Spot.

[I think I'm actually forbidden to go to Target because of how much money I spend every time I go. But really I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed 5,000 Dr. Seuss erasers!!!]

The caddies I had were in pretty bad shape considering I have had them for 5 years. And it gave me great pleasure to chuck them in the trash as I purged through my room. I made some primary colored labels to match our SUPER 2nd Grader theme and then tied some ribbons, thanks to Amy Lemons' super cute caddy-inspiration.

Do any of you use Words Their Way? Last year, I started using the program in my classroom and saw huge changes in my students and their ability to decode words in both spelling and reading. We had a pretty solid schedule of activities. We had a seven day rotation which ended with "Sort, Glue, Now We're Through!" [They loved that it rhymed!] But this year, I want to do something a little more engaging. I've been working on this activity that I hope that have on TpT soon, but the basic overview is that I have made BINGO cards for the kids. They'll be laminated so that they can mark their choices with an expo marker and at the end of two weeks, they can clean it off with a baby wipe. There are 24 different activities [and of course, the free space], and I want my kids to work towards completing a "double bingo" over the course of two school weeks.

My plan is that for the first month of school, I will spend time going over each of the activities one at a time, so that by October, they'll be independent. This will also give me time to inventory. Did I mention I have 36 kids this year?? THIRTY-SIX. It'll be fine, honestly. Usually the bigger the class, the easier they are; however [and this is a HUGE however], that's a lot of inventories to go through!!

Actually again, it'll be fine. Because I've been using the Techy Teacher's Automatic Spelling Inventory! I LOVE it!

[My brain goes through this crazy train of thought with 90% of things, so it's no surprise I'm exhausted by 4 pm.]

I digress... Here's a little preview of my soon-to-be product, FREE in my shop! :) The full version will have an explanation of each of the activities, 6 different bingo cards, bulletin board and pocket chart headers and games. I'm also hoping to provide reading samples, too, but that's a little further down the road.

I think this activity can be used for any spelling program given you have different spelling patterns on your list.

And a Question -- How do you all organize your stickers? I've tried the accordion envelope thingy, but I forget about my stickers. Right now, I have them in an open plastic dollar tree basket, separated by theme, but it's not my favorite look. I'd love to hear how you do it!!

You guys... I know I shouldn't even say this [because so many of you have already started or are starting this week], but it's crunch time here. Next week is my last "free" week. Translation: I'll be in my classroom all week with my kids hoping they don't touch anything or mess up my organized chaos. I'm starting to panic immensely just a little.

16 days and counting!!!

Monday Made-It [newbie alert]

Happy Monday! Unless you started school today, in which case I should wish you a Happy New Year! I cannot believe that so many schools resume today -- August 10th!! That is insane to me. It's still SUMMER!! And I probably should not complain about our school going back earlier this year. We usually start after Labor Day, but this year we're starting on the 31st. Wah wah.

This summer, I caught the cleaning and purging bug... BAD. I ended up emptying every closet, cabinet, shelf and drawer to clean, organize and purge. I've known my  collecting has been a problem for a long time. I think many teachers are afflicted with this very issue.

There's a name for it I think...

Oh.
Hoarding.

You know what I'm talking about. The oh-wait-I-do-need-to-keep-64-empty-fiji-water-bottles-for-years-just-in-case-I-need-them problem. No seriously. I kept 64 empty Fiji water bottles for five years. And full disclosure -- they still did not make it to my purge/trash/donate pile. [Because I really do think I can use them this year!]

I mean, for the most part it was organized, so I didn't really bother to do anything about it.

But then my skin began to crawl.  It was like the stuff was yelling at me through the cabinet doors... in a non-creepy Edgar Allen Poe way.

Anyway, while I was in my room a couple of days ago, amped up on loads of caffeine and no breakfast I might add, I decided my classroom needed a little mini-makeover, so here's my Monday Made It post! I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for my first every linky party (holla!)

Dear Lord, I hope I know what I'm doing! 

Remember when crate seats were all the rage on Pinterest? I feel like the minute someone posted that incredible idea, the whole site just exploded with other amazing ideas. So naturally, I had to make some crate seats when I pinned it about 30 times. Years ago, I bought thick wood, ridiculously priced foam and fabric and since my classroom theme five years ago was -- wait for it -- "classroom,"  I thought it was finally time to get some new fabric for these bad boys.

I mean, they weren't horrible, but they were faded, and... well, they've had a lot of fannies sitting on them over the years.

Here they are now all freshened up and Super Hero themed:

I put little ribbon tabs on them to help lift them up. I store all my math files in those crates, so easy access is important.

For some reason, my brain decided to decide it wanted to transform a plain lamp shade (incidentally headed for the trash can) into something for my classroom -- even though I have yet to get a lamp for it. (As if I need more evidence to identify my hoarding tendencies). So I spent all of J's nap time a lot of time drawing out a pattern, cutting the fabric, attaching it to the lampshade with clips, and gluing it down. It wouldn't have been so bad if a) I had pattern paper (I didn't, so I MacGyvered some home goods packing paper into a huge piece of paper thanks to scotch tape), and b) I had my fabric shears. I like to pretend I know what I'm doing whenever it comes to fabric, because I watch a lot of Project Runway and obviously that makes me an expert.

 And then there's the whole problem of the glue gun hating me and wanting me to die a slow horrible death via finger burns. 

Anyway, after an embarrassingly long amount of time, the lamp shade was transformed from this:

\

to this:

(PS. This is where I almost threw it in the trash out of frustration, but then I remembered how much I paid for that fabric and heard Tim Gunn tell me it was the ugliest piece of crap he'd ever seen and to make it work.) Oh and clearly I'm still shaky from massive amounts of caffeine and no food.

To the final product:

I made this wall art for J's room and finally got it printed and framed...yes, it's been almost 17 months since he was born.  A lot of moms would feel guilty for not having this done right after their kid's birth. Not me.

 It's okay. He's my second child.

(I think that calls for a hashtag... #secondchild)

And finally, I am so excited to share that I have "Made It" to TPT!! Please follow me! (Did that sound desperate??)  After years of saying "I should do this..." I finally did after much encouragement from my husband. I was super excited to make my first sale (the thought crossed my mind that it was my husband who bought it), and I'm just so excited to network with so many amazing teachers!!

I mean, I really should be hiding in a closet underneath a pile of dirty laundry because I have 0 followers and 2 sales, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

(And I might have done a small victory dance when I got the first sale email...

...okay fine it was a big victory dance.)

Wishing all you teachers a great 2015-2016 school year!